


That Catfe Kinda Love

by beyondthehunt



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: (lmao see what i did there), Cat cafe AU, Fluff, M/M, cat-tastic puns, so many cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 06:44:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13828698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyondthehunt/pseuds/beyondthehunt
Summary: Alec cooed at the white kitten in his arms, stroking its back gently. “The next cat we bring in, I’ll allow you the honors of giving the name.”Magnus clapped his hands in excitement. “Purr-fect! I already have a name in mind.” Alec let out a small groan at Magnus’s pun, prompting about the name.“Furddie Purrcury,” Magnus said, biting the insides of his cheek to hide his grin.





	That Catfe Kinda Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FiendMaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiendMaz/gifts).



> So this fic is for my love, [@maztri](https://maztri.tumblr.com/), who wanted malec + cat cafe. Thus, blame her for this CATastrophe (help me, I can't stop with the puns). 
> 
> Also thank you to [icymalec](http://icymalec.tumblr.com/) for looking this over!

Magnus Bane always sought out the history behind a life - a story. The reason of course was that the history built the foundation of that life. While it is true that a person’s backstory does not always define who they are, at least one part of their history, one small detail, took them on the path that led them to be who they are today. History is what makes the future. It is what can make a person judge another without much thought.

Often times, Magnus feels like the same could be said, in a sense, for cats. Within a group, one would likely find that at least half the group prefer dogs over cats. Why? The answer always seems to be the same: because cats are arrogant creatures. Cats are not loyal or loving. They’re just too difficult to understand. It is what history has shown, according to society.  

And quite honestly, it was disappointing.

Understandably, people will have their preferences. Not everyone likes oreos, so why does everyone have to like cats? And, well, Magnus himself couldn’t deny that there were a few cats he’d come across in his lifetime that definitely left behind a scar or two. But he understood them. He understood the mysterious creatures everyone couldn’t.

So when he heard about a position at Brooklyn’s Cat Cafe that was available, Magnus jumped at the opportunity. Brooklyn’s Cat Cafe was one of the most popular attractions in New York, owned and managed by the Lightwood family. Maryse Lightwood was the founder of Brooklyn’s Cat Cafe, famous for her work as an animal rights lawyer. Her husband, Luke Garroway - who worked in humane law enforcement - helped oversee the operations of the cafe along with her children, Alec and Isabelle Lightwood.

It was surprising, really, about the Lightwood family. Maryse had been married to Robert Lightwood, a New York judge who was one of the cruelest people Magnus had ever heard of. The things the man had allowed as a judge sickened Magnus. And when it had been discovered the man was cheating on his wife among other things...well, it’s a story not worth repeating. It had been five years since the story broke out, so Magnus was just glad that Maryse and her children were able to turn it all around.

And now here Magnus was, standing in front of the cafe. It was his first day and a mix of nerves and excitement filled him. He could see the cafe was already flowing with people bonding with the cats, smiling and giggling as some of the cats chased after toys. The scene before him was enlightening, making his heart leap with joy.

Inhaling a deep breath, Magnus opened the door and stepped inside. A gray and white tabby was lying on a cat tree a few feet from the door, meowing at Magnus. Magnus read the name tag that hung around its neck and chuckled to himself at the name: Chairman Meow. Chairman Meow purred as Magnus scratched under his chin, closing his eyes in content.

“Wow, he seems to like you,” a voice said from behind Magnus.

“Hm, of course he does. All cats love me,” Magnus commented, turning to face the stranger. The stranger was a beautiful man with dark, messy hair and hazel eyes that made Magnus weak in the knees.

“Yeah, well, you’re the first person that Chairman Meow has allowed near him,” the stranger noted.

“Am I now?” Magnus raised an eyebrow, turning to face Chairman Meow again. “It looks like you and I are going to be best friends.”

The stranger let out an amused laugh, moving to stand beside Magnus. “Are you looking to adopt?”

“Actually, I’m here to work. I’m Magnus Bane.”

“O-oh, I’m so sorry,” the stranger stuttered out, extending out a hand to shake. “I’m Alec Lightwood. I’m, uh, supposed to help you out today.”

“You’re Alec Lightwood?” Magnus asked, shaking Alec’s hands. “Huh. I’ve always wondered how you looked like and I have to say, I am definitely _not_ disappointed.”

Alec let out a jittery laugh, releasing Magnus’s hands. “T-thank you?”

“You’re welcome,” Magnus said, eyeing Alec up and down just for extra measure. Alec’s confident demeanor seemed to have changed to a more nervous one at Magnus’s attention, and Magnus couldn’t help but to smirk a little to himself.

“Right. Let’s get you set up. Follow me.”

Magnus followed Alec to the backroom of the cafe which Magnus presumed was an area reserved mainly for the cats. Everything for cat care was set up around the room, from litter boxes to food bowls. In one corner of the room was a crate containing a small group of kittens.

“How many weeks old are they?” Magnus asked Alec, pointing towards the kittens.

“Close to six weeks. They’re actually from the Brooklyn shelter a few blocks from us, but the shelter asked us to take them in for a few days since they’re setting up a new area for kittens,” Alec explained. “We usually do not have kittens otherwise.”

“Oh? Why not?” Magnus inquired.

“A variety of reasons, but one is the issue of diseases. Since they’re younger and smaller, it can just be harder to manage diseases and treat them. We want them grow strong and healthy, so we work with the shelter when it comes to kittens.”

“Hm, makes sense.”

Alec gave a small smile, grabbing a shirt from one of the cupboards. It was the same one Alec was wearing - a black t-shirt with the cafe’s logo on it. “This is the shirt we all wear. Don’t worry, you can do layers if you want and you don’t have to wear it every day. It’s mainly for when we have big events and all that stuff.”

Magnus nodded, grabbing the shirt. Alec gave him the tour of the room, explaining how the cafe ran. For now, Magnus would handle serving the customers and help maintain the cat room. He could also bond with the cats during break or after closing if he wanted to.

“Hey, Alec,” a young curly, brown-haired woman greeted, walking into the room. “Who is this?”

“Maia!” Alec beamed. “This is Magnus. Magnus, this is Maia. She pretty much manages the ‘cafe’ part here, so she’s the one to go to if you need any help.”

“Ah, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Maia revealed. “You seemed to have impressed Alec over here.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow, looking over to Alec who was glaring at Maia. “I’m intrigued. How exactly have I impressed you when we just met minutes ago with you thinking I was a customer.”

Maia snorted, walking over towards Magnus. “He read the letter you sent in along with your application. I’ve honestly never seen him so engrossed with something before. He wanted to hire you on the spot.”

“I see,” Magnus said, smirking at Alec. “I was wondering why I received a call back so soon and why the interview took place over the phone. It’s you I have to thank, hm?”

“Seriously Maia?” Alec groaned, obviously flustered. Maia winked at Alec, flashing a smile. “I was impressed by your letter. I mean, you only had to write one page but you wrote five, front-and-back. And the whole idea with the history compared to humans and cats...it was amazing.”

“Thank you. I had worried that I’d gone overboard, but I guess not,” Magnus said, smiling softly at Alec.

“You’re welcome,” Alec said, smiling back.

Maia let out a small chuckle, gathering a few items. “I need to hurry back to Leonardo DaPussy. I promised him a treat and I can’t leave him hanging any longer or he’s going to hate me.”

“Leonardo DaPussy?” Magnus asked, amusement in his voice.

“Yup. He’s the black and white cat that always has the mock-up Oscar toy we made,” Maia said. “He never lets that thing go.”

Alec hums in agreement, muttering something along the lines of ‘he loves that thing too much’. Maia leaves the room, calling out the cat’s name. Magnus snorts to himself, imagining the faces of visiting customers. Magnus returned his focus on Alec, who had made his way over to the kittens.

“Maia is the one who named Leonardo. Each of us here have given names to some of the cats, most of them a pun of a celebrity name,” Alec told, picking up a small, white kitten from the crate.

“And which cat had the fortune to be named by you?” Magnus inquired.

“Catsanova, a Sphynx cat that we had up until a few weeks ago,” Alec said with a grin. Magnus let out a loud laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

“Oh, my god. What was your inspiration, might I ask?”

“The movie. Catsanova was a sly one, just like Casanova from the movie. Seriously, he wooed all the ladies.”

“Hm, I would’ve loved to have seen that.”

Alec cooed at the white kitten in his arms, stroking its back gently. “The next cat we bring in, I’ll allow you the honors of giving the name.”

Magnus clapped his hands in excitement. “Purr-fect! I already have a name in mind.” Alec let out a small groan at Magnus’s pun, prompting about the name.

“Furddie Purrcury,” Magnus said, biting the insides of his cheek to hide his grin.

Alec stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, shaking his head at Magnus. Alec carefully returned the white kitten to the crate, his laughter still bright and loud. “T-that’s hor-horrible.”

“No it’s not!”

“Magnus...please. You know damn well it is.”

Magnus tried to hold back his laughter but soon gave in, agreeing with Alec that the name was indeed horrible. The two of them laughed for a good few minutes, clutching their stomachs. After the laughter calmed down and they caught their breath, Magnus couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. Alec was grinning too, his cheeks a bright pink.

The front door of the cafe let out a loud ding, a reminder that there were customers to tend to.

“Come on, we can’t waste your first day laughing about your terrible cat pun,” Alec said, urging Magnus to follow him as he exited the room.

Magnus felt warm inside, a feeling of content settling in. He was going to love it here.

\--

It had been a month since Magnus started working at Brooklyn’s Cat Cafe and honestly, it had been the best month in his life. He befriended Maia easily as they were often working the same shifts. Maia never failed to cheer Magnus up, always helping him out when he struggled with remembering the orders correctly. He also befriended Isabelle, whom he met a few days after starting at the cafe, and her boyfriend, Simon. Magnus enjoyed it when Isabelle would tell him stories about Alec, especially the stories of Alec when he was younger. Alec would sometime jump in to deny certain parts of a story, but usually he’d watch in silence with a small smile on his face.

Then there was Chairman Meow whom Magnus had developed a close bond with. Magnus would take the time to cuddle with Chairman during his breaks, whispering secrets that he knew would be safe in Chairman’s paws. Chairman was as much of a great listener as he was a great cuddle buddy.

Of course, there had been miserable days in which there were customers who did not understand the common decency of being nice and the college life would get to the best of Magnus. However, rarely did he go home at night without a smile. Alec always said or did something that left Magnus in a state of overwhelming joy.

The door of the cafe dinged, snapping Magnus out of his daze. Alec came rushing through with his backpack nearly falling off his back, customers looking at him with bewilderment as he stumbled, muttering apologies.

“Sorry I’m late,” Alec breathed out, dropping his backpack on the floor. “I hope you weren’t on your own for too long.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright. Everyone’s been too endeared with Luke Skywhisker to really pay me any notice,” Magnus explained. Luke Skywhisker was a gray Siberian that Simon had rescued from an alleyway a week ago. Simon had already named the cat when he brought it in, obviously endeared with him too.

“Good, good,” Alec said, looking over towards where the customers were gathered. “Has he been doing his one trick?”

“Yup. I’m honestly amazed that cat even knows how to do that,” Magnus commented.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Hm. So, did you get held up again by Professor Assface?”

“I did. He’s so infuriating, I swear to god. When will he realize that I’m not going to introduce him to my mother?”

Magnus chuckled, shaking his head. Alec was studying Animal Welfare, wanting to expand his horizons some more. Most of his professors adore Maryse, asking Alec about her on a daily basis. Honestly, Magnus didn’t understand how Alec was dealing with it. The professors should be enlightened with the fact that they have Alec in their classes. He was a genius, as far as Magnus was concerned.

“What about you? Any professors annoy you lately?” Alec asked.

“Other than shoving fifty exams in one day? No,” Magnus said. Honestly, being a history major could be a pain in the ass sometimes. There was too much history to cover.

The rest of their shift went smoothly, Magnus and Alec making small talk whenever possible. A few of the cats found their forever home, news that Magnus never tired of hearing. Magnus made his way over to Chairman Meow, sitting down next to him. Chairman perked up at Magnus’s presence, letting out a purr as he rubbed his head against Magnus’s thigh.

“Have you thought about it some more?”

Magnus looked up to find Alec staring at him with a soft gaze. Looking down at Chairman, Magnus smiled. Alec had once mentioned to Magnus if he ever thought about adopting the tabby and Magnus had. There were times where Magnus felt lonely, sometimes avoiding his empty loft. Often times, he’d end up staying at the cafe long after his shift ended; either hanging around with the cats or Alec.

Alec had a cat of his own, something he didn’t know until recently. As it turns out, Alec had adopted a Persian he rescued in an abandoned church about a year ago. The cat was named Church, of course. Alec explained that Church wasn’t exactly fond of people and usually liked to be left alone, similar to Chairman Meow. Though, Alec mentioned that Church seemed to sense when Alec had a long day, letting Alec pet him until Alec fell asleep. Magnus wanted something like that.

“You know, I have. And I think I’d love it if the Chairman moved in with me,” Magnus said, picking up Chairman and cradling the tabby in his arms.

“That’s great!” Alec beamed. “You two are a perfect fit for one another. I know Chairman will be happy with you.”

“Hm, I hope so. You know, maybe the Chairman and Church can have a playdate. They could be grouch buddies and meow about how annoying humans are while you and I have our own playdate,” Magnus suggested with a wink.

Alec stared at him with his mouth agape for a few seconds before quickly clearing his throat, nodding his head. “Y-yeah. I think we could arrange something like that.”

“Perfect! Now, let’s signs some adoption papers, hm?”

\--

The past week had been one of the craziest and busiest weeks Magnus experienced. Firstly, there was the new addition to his household, Chairman Meow. Moving to Magnus’s loft was not a smooth ride for the poor thing, obviously not used to having such a huge space all to himself. The tabby found many places to hide, places that left Magnus wondering how the hell he even fit in such a small space. On top of that, Chairman had an obsession with Magnus’s socks, taking pairs with him to these hiding spots. Magnus had spent an entire morning looking for a pair of his favorite socks and ended up late for his civilization class in which he had a presentation.  

Then there was the cafe. Maryse decided to organize a huge adoption day event, leaving everyone scrambling to get the word out. Magnus was assigned the task of the promoter, and while he had no trouble promoting, it was tiring. Despite the cafe and its connection with the Lightwoods, there were many people that wanted nothing to do with cats. One person had asked Magnus if there were going to be puppies at the event and really, Magnus had to fight the urge to smack the person.

Magnus sighed with relief as he served the last customer, waving goodbye to David Meowie, the cat the customer just adopted. He plopped down onto a chair, letting out an exaggerated moan. Everything hurt. His back, his legs, his feet. It was absurd at how long he had been standing during the entirety of the day.

“Well, that was a success, wasn’t it?” Maia asked, plopping down next to Magnus.

“Indeed,” Magnus said, closing his eyes.

“You guys were amazing,” Isabelle praised. She wasn’t at the cafe often, usually working behind the scenes. Though with how big the event was, she came in to help.

“Yeah, seriously. The way you two moved, it was like lightning fast,” Simon commented.

“Thank you. You guys were amazing too. Though, I can’t say Simon singing was a great idea..” Maia said, referencing to Simon deciding to break out into a song, jamming his guitar. Simon had a good voice, but the cats were not fond of the guitar.

“Right, yeah, that was horrible,” Simon agreed. Isabelle let out a laugh, pointing out at how the cats collectively let out a hiss at the same time. They were like hyenas.

“Alexander did wonderful,” Magnus joined in. “I thought you were going to lose your shit when that lady’s child picked up the cat by its tail. Instead, you handled it with such grace and professionalism.”

Alec groaned at the memory, shaking his head. “Children need to be taught to handle animals carefully. They’re stronger than they look.”

Magnus has had way too many unfortunate encounters with children to know just how true that was. Their hands may be small, but their strength can be deadly. At least children make up for it by being adorable cute.

“Do you think you have it from here, Alec? Mom’s making me handle some papers so I need to get a head start,” Isabelle asked.

“And I have to study for my Biology exam tomorrow,” Maia said.

“Yeah, I should be fine,” Alec said, looking around the room. “Cleanup doesn’t look so bad.”

“I can stay and help,” Magnus offered. He had an hour or two to spare, and even though his feet are burning, he didn’t want to leave Alec alone.

“Really? Thanks.”

Isabelle clapped her hands in satisfaction, turning to grab Simon’s hand. “Okay. And don’t forget to let me know who you’ll be bringing, Alec. It’s very important!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alec mumbled, waving as Isabelle and Simon left. Maia soon followed behind, Magnus wishing her luck on her exam in the morning.

Both Magnus and Alec got to work right away, sweeping the floor and cleaning the tables. They ushered the cats that hadn’t been available for adoption yet back into the cat room, giving them food and water. They also checked inventory, marking what needed to be refilled and such. Alec let out a yawn, leaning against the counter.

“I can’t wait to go home and crawl into my bed. I’m so tired,” Alec said.

“Me too. I just want to make a nice cup of hot chocolate and snuggle into my bed next to Chairman,” Magnus said with a yearning.

“Hot chocolate sounds amazing.”

“I know. Though now that I think about, do I really want to be the one who makes it? I’ve been making and serving drinks all day and really, I just don’t even want to think about it.”

Alec chuckled, humming in agreement.

“So, what was Isabelle talking about? About informing her of who you will be bringing?” Magnus prompted with curiosity.

“Oh, that,” Alec huffed. “It’s nothing, really. She just wants me to bring a date to Simon’s gig this Friday.”

“Ah, I see. Have you thought of anyone?”

“There is someone...but I don’t know. I’m not sure he’s interested anyway.”

“Please, that’s absurd. I’m sure he’s very interested.”

Alec looked at Magnus with a pointed look, mumbling a ‘yeah, right’. Magnus rolled his eyes, walking over towards Alec. Seriously, who wouldn’t be interested in Alec?

“Look, even if he doesn’t end up interested, it never hurts to ask, does it?” Magnus pointed out. “Ask him out right now. Text him or call him, whatever. If he says no, which I doubt, then I will gladly take his place.”

Alec sputtered, a strangled laugh escaping his mouth. “There’s just one problem with that: the guy I want to ask out, is standing right in front of me.”

Magnus stared at Alec, shock settling in. Oh. Honestly, how dim was Alec? Did he really think Magnus wouldn’t be interested? For heaven’s sake, Magnus had plainly asked him out last week, though it seems as if Alec didn’t take that seriously. It would explain why he never took up on the offer.

“Alexander,” Magnus finally managed to choke out, “of course I’d love to go out with you. I was serious about that whole playdate thing, you know?”

“Seriously?” Alec asked with wide eyes. “I thought you were just joking.”

“No, never. Maybe I should’ve been clearer, but my offer was very real,” Magnus said, brushing his thumb across Alec’s jawline.

Alec swallowed thickly, his eyes flicking down to Magnus’s lips before returning back to Magnus’s gaze. “M-maybe I can take you up on that offer right now? I think Church would enjoy it very much. And well, I could make us some hot chocolate.”

Magnus smiled, biting his lips. “That sounds lovely.”

And it was indeed lovely. Chairman Meow and Church hit it off great, immediately running off and hiding somewhere. Magnus and Alec ended up falling asleep on the couch, arms entangled, spent from their heavy makeout session. Magnus couldn’t help but to smile to himself as he imagined the future, him and Alec with their two children and fifty cats. They’d be the crazy cat family.

**Author's Note:**

> I hoped you enjoyed ♥ Find me [@beyondthehunt](http://beyondthehunt.tumblr.com/) if you want to keep up with what I am doing ~


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